Plug connector

ABSTRACT

An improved plug connector including a housing and a housing cover engaged to each other in a length direction i.e. axial direction of the plug. Since the engaging portion is not provided in the width direction of the plug, the dimension in the width direction of the plug connector can be reduced. The improved plug collector may include a plurality of grooves for fitting terminals formed in the axial direction of the housing, the terminals being covered by portion of the housing cover such that the plurality of grooves are closed at each end. As such, the resin used to overmold the housing/housing cover is prevented from flowing to the front end of the plug connector by way of the grooves. The improved plug connector may also include a shield case having a clamp portion that is made eccentric from the axis core of the shield case. Since the clamp portion is not provided in the axial direction of the shield case, the clamp portion does not prevent and/or hinder the housing from being easily inserted into the shield case. As such, the integration of the housing with the shield case is simplified.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and morespecifically, to an improved plug connector with a reduced widthdimension, an improved method of preventing the overmold resin fromcausing contact failure and an improved shield case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior art plug connectors include a resin-molded handhold portion and aplug main body in which a portion thereof is projected from the handholdportion, the projected portion constituting a portion plugged into amating connector.

The plug main body includes a housing, a plurality of terminals providedin the housing and connected to the cable, a housing cover covering atleast a portion of the terminals and wires of the cable and a shieldcase for shielding the members. The plurality of terminals are fixedwithin a plurality, of grooves formed in the axial direction of thehousing, and a cable is connected to the housing by soldering the wiresto the terminals. The plug main body is formed by combining the housingcover and the shield case to the housing connected with the cable. Thehandhold portion is formed by overmolding the plug main body with aresin.

Although attachment of the housing cover to the housing is carried outby an engaging portion for engaging the two members, the engagingportion is formed in a width direction of the plug and therefore, theengaging portion constitutes a factor for increasing a width dimension.Furthermore, when the plug main body is overmolded, the resin can flowto the front end of the plug by way of the plurality of grooves of thehousing fitted with the terminals. As a result, there is a concern ofcausing contact failure between the plug and the mating connector.

Although, the terminals may be embedded in the housing by insert moldingor the grooves are closed by premolding as a countermeasure againstleakage of the resin, these methods result in an increase in cost and/orthe molding may become unstable.

Further, the cable cover is peeled off for soldering the core wires tothe terminals. A knitted shield and a drain wire of the cable are turnedback, and a copper foil tape (“copper foil portion”) is wrapped aroundthe turned-back members. The cable is clamped to the connector such thatthe copper foil tape is not loosened. The clamping is carried out by,for example, a portion of the shield case in the form of enabling theclamping of the cable. Therefore, the corresponding portion of theshield case is referred to as clamp portion.

Generally, when the shield case is attached to the housing, after thehousing cover is attached to the housing, the shield case is fitted tothe housing from the front end portion side of the housing along thelongitudinal direction of the shield case. The dimension of the maximumwidth portion of the housing cover is larger than that of the copperfoil portion and the housing cover is situated at the front end side ofthe cable.

When the shield case is fitted to the housing, the width dimension ofthe portion of the shield case holding the housing cover is larger thanthe clamp portion clamping the copper foil portion. The clamp portion islocated at the rear end side of the shield case comparing to the portionholding the housing cover. Also the clamp portion has the clamp piecesmade in a U shape cross section opening upwardly.

In this case, as stated above, since the dimension of the width of theclamp portion is smaller than that of the width of the housing cover,when the shield case is attached to the housing from the direction ofthe rear end side of the shield case, since the clamp portion,especially clamp piece having the dimension which is smaller than thatof the housing cover conflicts with the housing cover, it is difficultto attach the shield case to the housing easily.

Therefore, when the shield case is introduced into the housing, there isa concern that the front end of the clamp portion constitutes ahindrance to mating the housing to the shield case. Therefore, itbecomes difficult to integrate the housing to the shield case.

In addition, conventionally, there is proposed a shield case comprisingtwo parts or more as means for shielding the housing. That is, theshield case includes a housing shield portion to shield the housing anda cover shield portion to shield the housing cover. In this instance,increased time and labor are required for control and integration of thetwo shield parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a new andimproved electrical connector that overcomes the problems noted in theprior art.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce at least adimension in a width direction of a plug connector.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent contact failurebetween the plug and its mating connector.

Still another object of the present invention is to simplify operationof integrating the connector housing with the connector shield case.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a housing and a housing coverare engaged to each other in a length direction i.e. axial direction ofthe plug. As such, the housing and the housing cover are not engaged inthe width direction of the plug. Since the engaging portion is notprovided in the width direction of the plug, the dimension in the widthdirection of the plug connector can be reduced.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of groovesfor fitting terminals formed in the axial direction of the housing arecovered by a portion of the housing cover, and therefore, the resin usedto overmold the housing/housing cover is prevented from flowing to thefront end of the plug connector by way of the grooves. In this case, itis further effective to provide a plurality of closing means to preventthis type of resin flow. Thus, contact failure between the plugconnector and its mating connector can be prevented.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the clamp portion ismade eccentric from the axis core of the shield case. Since the clampportion is not provided in the axial direction of the shield case, theclamp portion does not prevent and/or hinder the housing from beingeasily inserted into the shield case. As such, the integration of thehousing with the shield case is simplified.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, maybe best understood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a USB cable adopting a plug according tothe invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the plug connector according to oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing mounted with a housing cover,and a shield case.

FIG. 4 is a plane view of a housing having a plurality of terminalssoldered with a cable.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a housing in a state of beingshielded by a shield case.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plug main body before being overmoldedby a resin.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a plug main body before beingovermolded by a resin.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of a plug.

FIG. 9 is a partially omitted perspective view for illustrating theengaging relationship between a housing cover and a housing.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a housing cover.

FIG. 11 is a plane view of a housing cover.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a housing cover.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken along a line XII—XIII of FIG.11.

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of a housing cover.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of plug constituent parts according to analternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a shield case according to the alternativeembodiment of the invention and is a view viewing from an arrow mark XVIdirection of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a front view of a housing shield.

FIG. 18 is a shell showing a state in which an exposed core wire issoldered to a terminal of a housing removed of a housing cover.

FIG. 19 is a cross sectional view showing a state in which the housingcover is mounted to the housing of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a cross sectional view showing a state in which the housingof FIG. 19 is inserted into a shield case.

FIG. 21 is a cross sectional view showing a state in which a cable isbent in the state of FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a state in which bending of the cable isrecovered from the state of FIG. 21 and the housing is shielded by theshield case.

FIG. 23 is a view showing a state in which the cable extended from thehousing shielded by the shield case is bent.

FIG. 24 is a bottom view of FIG. 22 and is a view showing a state ofclamping a copper foil portion.

FIG. 25 is a cross sectional view showing a state of fixing electricwires in the housing.

FIG. 26 is a cross sectional view shoving a plug in which a plug mainbody is covered by a handhold portion formed by overmolding.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the invention may be susceptible to embodiment in different forms,there is shown in the drawings, and herein will be described in detail,certain embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosureis to be considered an exemplification of the principles of theinvention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that asillustrated and described herein.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a plug connector 10 has the sameappearance as that in prior art described above. That is, a plug mainbody 24 is overmolded with resin to form a handhold portion 25, and aplug-in portion 80 constituting a portion of the plug main body 24 isprojected from the handhold portion 25.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the plug main body 24 is provided with ahousing 11, terminals 12 fitted in the housing and connected to thecable 20 (5 terminals are shown in this embodiment), a housing cover 13mounted to the housing 11 and covering at least a portion of the wiresof the cable 20 and solder connection portions 12 c of the terminals 12,and a shield case 14 for shielding the housing 11 and the housing cover13. The housing 11, the terminals 12, and the housing cover 13 aresubstantially shielded by the shield case 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 11 is a flat plate-like member molded ofan insulating resin. Further, an upper surface 70 of the housing 11 isformed with a plurality of grooves 26 extended in an axial direction,i.e., a direction designated by arrow X in FIG. 2. Terminals 12 arerespectively fitted in the grooves 26. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, atsubstantially the center of the housing 11, there is formed athree-dimensional intersecting portion 11 a orthogonal to the grooves26. The intersecting portion 11 a is a projecting portion projectedupwardly from the housing surface 70, and in the embodiment illustrated,is generally rectangular.

The rectangular bridge member 11 a is provided with a through hole 11 dopened to both ends thereof in the axial direction. The through hole 11d includes a plurality of partition walls 28 for equally partitioningthe through hole 11 d to correspond to the number of the grooves 26.

Small gaps 30 are formed at the through hole 11 d by the partition walls28. That is, the through hole 11 d may be regarded as an aggregation ofthe small gaps 30. The bridge member includes 11 a includes a fist face11 b on a front side in the axial direction of the rectangular bridgemember 11 a and a second face 11 c on a rear side in the axial directionthereof.

The rectangular bridge member 11 a and a portion 50 frontward therefromare main portions of the housing 11 contained in the shield case 14, andis referred to as a main containing portion 12 b. Further, the frontportion 50 is a portion of the housing 11 at which front end portions ofthe terminals 12 are disposed.

The terminals 12 each comprise a conductive metal plate. Further, theterminals 12 are extended in the axial direction in the housing 11 and afront end portion 12 a thereof contacts with a mating connector.

Further, as seen from FIG. 4, the rear end portions 12 c of theterminals 12 are the solder connection portions connected to core wires34 of electric wires 32 of the cable 20 by soldering. The terminals 12are inserted into the small gaps 30 of the rectangular bridge member 11a by way of the grooves 26 of the housing 11. Further, as shown in FIG.4, the respective terminals 12 are fixed to the housing surface 70 suchthat the intermediary portions 12 m thereof are disposed in the smallgaps 30.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 9, the housing cover 13 is a box-like memberopened downwardly and rearwardly and substantially rectangular in planeview and is mountable to the housing 11. The housing cover 13 isprovided with a main body 13 c including a ceiling wall when the housingcover 13 is attached to the housing 11, a thick-walled front wall 36extended downwardly from a front edge in peripheral edges of the housingcover main body 13 c, and side walls 38, 40 extended downwardlytherefrom, an eaves-like plate 13 f in an inverted recess shape in itscross sectional face having a width slightly narrower than the housingcover main body 13 c and extended forwardly from the front wall 36, arectangular plate 13 d projected from the front wall 36 disposeddownward from the eaves-like plate 13 f and in parallel therewith bybeing spaced apart from the eaves-like plate 13 f by a small gap 44 andprojected forward from the eaves-like plate 13 f, and a downwardly hungplate 13 e extended downwardly from a front end edge of the rectangularplate 13 d.

A rear, or third, face 13 a of the downwardly hung plate 13 e is broughtinto contact with the first face 11 b of the rectangular bridge member11 a when the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11. A front, orfourth, face 13 b of the front wall 36 is brought into contact with thesecond face 11 c of the rectangular bridge member 11 a when the housingcover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 10, FIG. 15, an upper face 13j of the rectangular plate 13 d is referred to as a fifth face, and alower face 13 k and an upper face 13 l of the eaves-like plate 13 f arerespectively referred to as a sixth face 13 k and a seventh face 13 l,respectively. In addition, a projecting edge portion 13 g is projectedupwardly from a rear side of an upper face of the housing cover mainbody 13 c. The projecting edge portion 13 g prevents the shield case 14from moving in the axial direction when the housing cover 13 is shieldedby the shield case 14.

As best shown in FIG. 14, the rear face 13 a of the downwardly hungplate 13 e of the housing cover 13 includes first projecting portions 13h engaged with the rectangular bridge member 11 a of the housing 11.Each of the first projecting, or engaging, portions 13 h is insertedinto the small gaps 30 of the through hole 11 d from the front, orfirst, side face 11 b of the rectangular bridge member 11 a when thehousing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11. Also at the front, orfourth, face 13 b of the front wall 36 of the housing cover 13, thereare provided second projecting, or engaging, portions 13 i engaged withthe rectangular bridge member 11 a of the housing 11.

Similar to the first projecting portions 13 h, in a state in which thehousing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11 (see FIG. 3), each of thesecond projecting portions 13 i is also inserted into the small gaps 30of the through hole 11 d from a side of the second face 11 c of therectangular bridge member 11 a of the housing 11. Therefore, theengaging projections 13 h and 13 i may be regarded as pairs ofprojections formed at positions respectively closing one opening 60 hand the other opening 60 i of the through hole 11 d (see FIG. 9).Further, the pluralities of engaging projections 13 h and 13 i may beregarded as a plurality of small projections respectively fitted toopenings of the small gaps 30 formed by the plurality of partition walls28 (see FIG. 9). Therefore, the first projecting portions 13 h and thesmall gaps 30 of the through hole 11 d as well as the second projectingportions 13 i and the small gaps 30 are also referred to as “engagingportions”. By the fitting operation, the housing cover 13 is engagedwith the housing 11 and cannot be detached therefrom.

According to the housing cover 13, the rear face (third face) 13 a ofthe downwardly hung plate 13 e and the face (fourth face) 13 b on thefront side of the front wall 36, are brought into contact with the firstface 11 b and the second face 11 c of the rectangular bridge member 11a. At the same time, the first projecting portions 13 h and the secondprojecting portions 13 i respectively provided to these facesrespectively close completely the two openings 60 h and 60 i of thethrough hole 11 d as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

Since the housing cover 13 is mounted to engage with the housing 11 inthe axial direction, i.e., the length direction of the housing 11, andnot in the width direction, the dimension of the plug 10 in the widthdirection can be reduced. Further, the engaging portions 13 h and 13 iand the small gaps 30 are provided in the housing 11 in the axialdirection of the housing 11, thereby likewise contributing to thereduced width of the connector 10.

The shield case 14 is a conductive metal plate, and as shown in FIG. 2,FIG. 4 through FIG. 7, the shield case is provided with a cylindricalportion 14 a in which the main containing portion 12 b of the housing 11and the rectangular plate 13 d of the housing cover 13 mounted to thehousing 11 are inserted, a hold portion 14 b having a section in arectangular shape continuous to the cylindrical portion 14 a and havinga diameter larger than that of the cylindrical portion 14 a for fixingthe eaves-like plate 13 f of the housing cover 13 to hold from foursides, a surrounding portion 14 c disposed rearward from the holdportion 14 b and surrounding the solder connection portions 12 c of therespective terminals 12, and a clamp portion (cable fixing portion) 14 ddisposed further rearward from the surrounding portion 14 c for clampinga copper foil portion 72 of the cable 20. Centers of these portions,i.e., the cylindrical portion 14 a, the hold portion 14 b and thesurrounding portion 14 c are on the same axis core in plane view.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the housing 11, to which the housingcover 13 is attached, inserted into the shield case 14. By inserting themain containing portion 12 b of the housing 11 and the rectangular plate13 d of the housing cover 13 into the cylindrical portion 14 a of theshield case 14, the main containing portion 12 b and the housing cover13 are held by the shield case 14. The fifth face 13 j and the sixthface 13 k of the housing cover 13 are brought into contact with an innerperipheral face 52 and an outer peripheral face 54 of the cylindricalportion 14 a of the shield case 14 and the hold portion 14 b of theshield case 14 is brought into contact with the seventh face 13 l. Arear portion of the cylindrical portion 14 a is sandwiched between thefifth face 13 j and the sixth face 13 k of the housing cover 13, and theeaves-like plate 13 f is sandwiched between the hold portion 14 b andthe rear portion of the cylindrical portion 14 a of the shield case 14.

As shown in FIG. 5 through FIG. 7, the electric wires 32 of the cable 20are surrounded by the surrounding portion 14 c of the shield case 14,and the cable 20 is fixed by the clamp portion 14 d formed rearwardly inthe axial direction from a bottom face wall 14 f of the surroundingportion 14 c. Further, the position of the clamp portion 14 d is set toclamp the copper foil portion 72.

The surrounding portion 14 c is formed in a U-like shape in which across sectional face thereof is opened upwardly and corner portions areprovided with a right angle, before surrounding the electric wires 32 ofthe cable 20. The surrounding portion 14 c is provided with a pair ofwall members 14 c 1 and 14 c 2 having the same shape extended linearlyand upwardly from the bottom portion of the shield case 14. Further, thesurrounding portion 14 c has a cross-sectional face that is the samerectangular shape as that of the hold portion 14 b when the electricwires 32 of the cable 20 are surrounded and accordingly, the wallmembers 14 c 1 and 14 c 2 are bent at a right angle substantially atcenters in the longitudinal direction and are closed. A ceiling wall 14c 3 of the surrounding portion 14 c is formed by bending the wallmembers 14 c 1 and 14 c 2.

As shown in FIG. 8, the plug main body 24 is overmolded by a resin P.However, the front end portion of the shield case 14, which is broughtinto contact with a mating connector, is not overmolded.

The housing 11 and the housing cover 13 are engaged in the axialdirection and therefore, the dimension of the plug connector 10 in thewidth direction can be reduced. In other words, the first projectionportions 13 h and the small gaps 30 of the through hole 11 d as well asthe second projecting portions 13 i and the small gaps 30, are notprovided in the width direction of the plug and therefore, the dimensionof the plug 10 in the width direction can be reduced. Further, theengaging portions are converged in the axial direction (lengthdirection) of the housing 11 and therefore, the length of the plug 10 isnot also increased.

Additionally, the first projecting portions 13 h and the secondprojecting portions 13 i (also referred to as engaging projections),close the front and rear openings in the axial direction of the throughhole 11 d of the rectangular bridge member 11 a provided to cross theintermediary portions of the plurality of grooves 26 of the housing 11,that is, the front and rear opening of the small gaps 30, and therefore,when the plug main body 24 is overmolded with resin P, since the frontand rear opening are closed respectively by the first projectingportions 13 h and the second projecting portions 13 i, even when theresin P flows to the grooves 26, the resin P can be prevented fromflowing to the front of the plug by way of the plurality of grooves 26by the first projecting portions 13 h and the second projecting portions13 i. As a result, contact failure is not caused between the plug andthe mating connector.

Further, the rear portion of the cylindrical portion 14 a is sandwichedbetween the fifth face 13 j constituting the upper face of therectangular plate 13 d of the housing cover 13 and the sixth face 13 kconstituting the lower face. The seventh face 13 l constituting theupper face of the eaves-like plate 13 f of the housing cover 13, is heldby the hold portion 14 b of the shield case 14 and therefore, even whenwrenching force is exerted to the cylindrical portion 14 a relative tothe housing 11 or the housing cover 13, the hold portion 14 b achievescushioning operation. Therefore, durability of the plug 10 against thewrenching force can be promoted. Further, for achieving the cushioningoperation, it is preferable to mold the housing cover 13 by an elasticmaterial i.e., resin such as plastic or the like. The resin cover 13having the cushioning operation contributes to improvement of impactresistance.

The plug 10 disclosed in the above-described embodiment may be alsodefined as follows.

(1) There is provided plug 10 having housing 11, terminals 12 mounted tothe housing 11 and the housing cover 13 mounted to the housing 11, thehousing 11 including first projecting portion 11 a at its surface, thefirst projecting portion 11 a is provided with the first face 11 borthogonal to the axial direction of the housing 11 and the second face11 c on the side opposite thereto, and is provided with the through hole11 d extended in the axial direction of the housing 11 between the firstface 11 b and the second face 11 c and penetrated from the first face 11b to the second face 11 c, the terminals 12 are arranged to the surfaceof the housing where the terminals 12 are extended in the axialdirection of the housing 11, the contact portions 12 a are provided atthe one ends and the cable 20 is connected to the other ends, theterminals 12 are inserted into the through hole 11 d and arranged at thesurface of the housing in a state in which the intermediary portions 12m between the one ends and the other ends are disposed inside thethrough hole 11 d, the housing cover 13 is provided with the third face13 a for closing the through hole 11 d by being brought into contactwith the first face 11 b and the fourth face 13 b for closing thethrough hole 11 d by being brought into contact with the second face 11c in the state of being mounted to the housing 11, the third face 13 ais provided with the first projecting portions 13 h inserted into thethrough hole 11 d from the side of the first face 11 b in the state inwhich the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, and the fourthface 13 b is provided with the second projecting portions 13 i insertedinto the through hole 11 d from the side of the second face 11 c whenhousing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11.

(2) There is provided plug 10 having housing 11, terminals 12 mounted tothe housing 11 and the housing cover 13 mounted to the housing 11,housing 11 including first projecting portion 11 a at its surface, thefirst projecting portion 11 a is provided with the first face 11 borthogonal to the axial direction of the housing 11 and the second face11 c on the side opposite thereto, and is provided with through hole 11d extended in the axial direction of the housing 11 between the firstface 11 b and the second face 11 c and penetrated from the first face 11b to the second face 11 c. The terminals 12 are arranged to the surfaceof the housing such that the terminals 12 are extended in the axialdirection of the housing 11, the contact portions 12 a are provided atthe one ends and the cable 20 is connected to the other ends, theterminals 12 are inserted into the through hole 11 d and arranged at thesurface of the housing such that the intermediary portions 12 m betweenthe one ends and the other ends are inside the through hole 11 d, thehousing cover 13 is provided with the third face 13 a for closing thethrough hole 11 d by being brought into contact with the first face 11 band the fourth face 13 b for closing the through hole 11 d by beingbrought into contact with the second face 11 c, the third face 13 a isprovided with the first projecting portions 13 h inserted into thethrough hole 11 d from the side of the first face 11 b when the housingcover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, and the fourth face 13 b isprovided with the second projecting portions 13 i inserted into thethrough hole 11 d from the side of the second face 11 c when the housingcover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, further provided with the housingshell 14 of conductive metal plate, having the cylindrical portion 14 ainserted with the portion 50 of the housing 11 on the side at which thecontact portions 12 a of the terminals 12 are disposed and the housingcover 13, in which the cylindrical portion 14 a holds the housing 11 andthe housing cover 13 by surrounding the inserted portion 50 and theinserted housing cover 13.

(3) There is provided plug 10 having housing 11, terminals 12 mounted tothe housing 11 and the housing cover 13 mounted to the housing 11,housing 11 including first projecting portion 11 a at its surface, thefirst projecting portion 11 a is provided with the first face 11 borthogonal to the axial direction of the housing 11 and the second face11 c on the side opposite thereto, and through hole 11 d extended in theaxial direction of the housing 11 between the first face 11 b and thesecond face 11 c and penetrated from the first face 11 b to the secondface 11 c. Terminals 12 are arranged to the surface of the housing suchthat the terminals 12 are extended in the axial direction of the housing11, the contact portions 12 a are provided at the one ends and the cable20 is connected to the other ends, the terminals 12 are inserted intothe through hole 11 d and arranged at the surface of the housing suchthat the intermediary portions 12 m between the one ends and the otherends are disposed inside the through hole 11 d. The housing cover 13 isprovided with the third face 13 a for closing the through hole 11 d bybeing brought into contact with the first face 11 b and the fourth face13 b for closing the through hole 11 d by being brought into contactwith the second face 11 c when the cover 13 is mounted to the housing11. The third face 13 a is provided with the first projecting portions13 h inserted into the through hole 11 d from the side of the first face11 b when the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, and thefourth face 13 b is provided with the second projecting portions 13 iinserted into the through hole 11 d from the side of the second face 11c when the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, furtherprovided with the housing shell 14 of conductive metal plate, having thecylindrical portion 14 a inserted with the portion 50 of the housing 11on the side at which the contact portions 12 a of the terminals 12 aredisposed and the housing cover 13. The cylindrical portion 14 a holdsthe housing 11 and the housing cover 13 by surrounding the insertedportion 50 and the inserted housing cover 13. The housing cover 13 isprovided with the fifth face 13 j brought into contact with the innerperipheral face 52 of the cylindrical portion 14 a of the housing shell14, the sixth face 13 k arranged upward from the fifth face 13 j,brought into contact with the outer peripheral face 54 of thecylindrical portion 14 a for sandwiching the cylindrical portion 14 abetween the sixth face 13 k and the fifth face 13 j, and the rectangularplate 13 d having the sixth face 13 k and the seventh face 13 l disposedon a side opposite to the sixth face 13 k constituting the surface ofthe housing cover 13, and the housing shell 14 is provided with the holdportion 14 b holding the seventh face 13 l by being brought into contacttherewith.

(4) There is provided plug 10 having housing 11, terminals 12 mounted tothe housing 11 and the housing cover 13 mounted to the housing 1,housing 11 including first projecting portion 11 a at its surface, thefirst projecting portion 11 a is provided with the first face 11 borthogonal to the axial direction of the housing 11 and the second face11 c on the side opposite thereto, and is provided with the through hole11 d extended in the axial direction of the housing 11 between the firstface 11 b and the second face 11 c and penetrated from the first face 11b to the second face 11 c. Terminals 12 are arranged to the surface ofthe housing such that the terminals 12 are extended in the axialdirection of the housing 11, the contact portions 12 a are provided atthe one ends and the cable 20 is connected to the other ends, theterminals 12 are inserted into the through hole 11 d and arranged at thesurface of the housing such that the intermediary portions 12 m betweenthe one ends and the other ends are disposed inside the through hole 11d. The housing cover 13 is provided with the third face 13 a for closingthe through hole 11 d by being brought into contact with the first face11 b and the fourth face 13 b for closing the through hole 11 d by beingbrought into contact with the second face 11 c. The third face 13 a isprovided with the first projecting portions 13 h inserted into thethrough hole 11 d from the side of the first face 11 b when the housingcover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, and the fourth face 13 b isprovided with the second projecting portions 13 i inserted into thethrough hole 11 d from the side of the second face 11 c when the housingcover 13 is mounted to the housing 11, further provided with the housingshell 14 of conductive metal plate, having the cylindrical portion 14 ainserted with the portion 50 of the housing 11 on the side at which thecontact portions 12 a of the terminals 12 are disposed and the housingcover 13, in which the cylindrical portion 14 a holds the housing 11 andthe housing cover 13 by surrounding the inserted portion 50 and theinserted housing cover 13. The housing cover 13 is provided with thefifth face 13 j brought into contact with the inner peripheral face 52of the cylindrical portion 14 a of the housing shell 14, the sixth face13 k arranged upward from the fifth face 13 j, brought into contact withthe outer peripheral face 54 of the cylindrical portion 14 a forsandwiching the cylindrical portion 14 a between the sixth face 13 k andthe fifth face 13 j, and the rectangular plate 13 d having the sixthface 13 k and the seventh face 13 l disposed on a side opposite to thesixth face 13 k constituting the surface of the housing cover 13.Housing shell 14 is provided with hold portion 14 b holding the seventhface 13 l by being brought into contact therewith, wherein the housingshell 14 is provided with the surrounding portion 14 c for surroundingthe cable 20 and is provided with the fixing portion 14 d fixed to thecable 20.

In the plug connector of the present invention, the third face 13 a andthe fourth face 13 b are respectively brought into contact with thefirst face 11 b and the second face 11 c orthogonal to the axialdirection of the housing 11 to thereby close the through hole 11 d. Thatis, the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11 by being broughtinto contact with the two side faces in the axial direction of thehousing 11 and at that occasion, the housing cover 13 is not broughtinto contact with the two side faces in the width direction of thehousing 11. Therefore, the dimension in the width direction of thehousing 11 can be reduced, which results in the dimension in the widthdirection of the plug 10 similarly being reduced.

Further, when an interval between the third face 13 a and the fourthface 13 b of the housing cover 13 is less than an interval between thefirst face 11 b and the second face 11 c of the projecting portion 11 a,the housing cover 13 is securely mounted to the projecting portion 11 a.

The third face 13 a is provided with the first projecting portions 13 hinserted into the through hole 11 d from the side of the first face 11 bin the state in which the housing cover 13 is mounted to the housing 11and the fourth face 13 b is provided with the second projecting portions13 i inserted into the through hole 11 d from the side of the secondface 11 c in the state in which the housing cover 13 is mounted to thehousing 11. Therefore, the housing cover 13 is mounted firmly to thehousing 11 by inserting (engaging) the respective projecting portions 13h and 13 i into the through hole.

Further, the respective projecting portions 13 h and 13 i are insertedinto the through hole 11 d in the close contact state. Therefore, evenwhen the resin assumedly flows into the through hole 11 d in overmoldingdue to the fact that there is a gap between the second face 11 c and thefourth face 13 b, the resin is dammed from flowing by the first face 11b and the third face 13 a on the downstream side in the flowingdirection of the resin. Therefore, the resin can sufficiently beprevented from invading the contact portions 12 a of the terminals atthe front end of the plug via the through hole 11 d.

The plug 10 is further provided with the housing shell 14 having thecylindrical portion 14 a comprising the conductive metal plate andinserted with the portion 50 at which the contact portions 12 a of theterminals 12 are disposed and the housing cover 13 and the cylindricalportion 14 a holds the housing cover 13 relative to the housing 11 bysurrounding the inserted portion 50 and the inserted housing cover 13.Therefore, mounting the housing cover 13 relative to the housing 11 canbe maintained by one sheet of the conductive metal plate. There are notneeded a plurality of parts such that the part is divided in two formaintaining the mounted state as in the conventional case. Therefore,there can be provided the plug at comparatively low cost.

The housing cover 13 is provided with the fifth face 13 j brought intocontact with the inner peripheral face of the cylindrical portion whenit is inserted into the cylindrical portion 14 a of the housing shell14, the sixth face 13 k arranged upward from the fifth face 13 j,brought into contact with the outer peripheral face 54 of thecylindrical portion 14 a and sandwiching the cylindrical portion 14 abetween the sixth face 13 k and the fifth face 13 j, and the plate 13 fhaving the sixth face 13 k and the seventh face 13 l and the housingshell 14 is provided with the hold portion 14 b for holding the seventhface 13 l by being brought into contact therewith. Therefore, thecylindrical portion 14 a is sandwiched between the fifth face 13 j andthe sixth face 13 k. The seventh face 13 l on the side opposite to thesixth face 13 k is held by the hold portion 14 b and when force forwrenching the housing 11 or the housing cover 13 is exerted to thecylindrical portion 14 a, the hold portion achieves cushioningoperation. Therefore, durability of the plug 10 against wrenching can beimproved. In order to achieve the cushioning operation, it is preferableto mold the housing cover 13 by an elastic material i.e. resin such asplastic or the like. The housing cover 13 having such a cushioningoperation contributes also to improvement of impact resistance of theplug 10.

The housing shell 14 includes the surrounding portion 14 c forsurrounding the cable 20. Therefore, the cable 20 can be shielded. Thehousing shell 14 also includes fixing portion 14 d fixed to the cable20. Therefore, the housing 11 inserted into the cylindrical portion 14 aof the housing shell 14 and the cable 20 can be connected furtherfirmly.

An alternative embodiment of connector plug 10A is shown in FIG. 15through FIG. 26. A point of a difference of the plug 10A according tothe alternative embodiment from the plug 10 according to the previouslydescribed (first) embodiment, resides in a mode of a shield case 14A anda point related thereto. Therefore, an explanation will be given onlyfor the difference, the same portions are attached with the samenotations as the notations used in the first embodiment and anexplanation thereof will be omitted.

First, as shown in FIG. 15 through FIG. 24, a description will be givenfor a surrounding portion 114 c corresponding to the surrounding portion14 c according to the first embodiment. A shape of a cross-sectionalface of the surrounding portion 114 c surrounding the electric wires 32of the cable 20 at least after integrating a plug main body 24 a, issubstantially rectangular similar to the surrounding portion 14 caccording to the first embodiment.

Prior to surrounding the electric wires 32, wall members 114 c 1 and 114c 2 respectively correspond to the wall members 14 e 1 and 14 c 2 of thesurrounding portion 14 c. Ceiling wall 114 c 3 corresponding to theceiling wall 14 c 3 of the surrounding portion 14 c according to thefirst embodiment, is integrally formed with the wall member 114 c 1 onan upper side thereof. Further, from a rear edge of the ceiling wall 114c 3, there is integrally formed the clamp portion 14 d extendedrearwardly in the axial direction via a joint 200 and opened in a leftside direction (see FIG. 15). Although the ceiling wall 114 c 3, thejoint 200 and the clamp portion 14 d are disposed on the same axial lineL1 in side view, both members are eccentric from an axis core L2 of theshield case 14A as shown in FIG. 16, FIG. 17 and FIG. 20.

Further, from a left side edge of the ceiling wall 114 c 3, wall member114 c 2 having a height corresponding to substantially half of wallmember 14 c 2, is formed integrally with the ceiling wall 114 c 3.Ceiling wall 114 c 3 is inscribed with a folding line 115 at a portionof the ceiling wall 114 c 3 constituting a boundary with the wall member114 c 1 such that the ceiling wall 114 c 3 can be bent to fold The wallmember 114 c 2 is provided with a height dimension substantially a halfof the wall member 14 c 2 according to the first embodiment as shown inFIG. 17.

The position of the clamp portion 14 d via the joint 200 is set suchthat the copper foil portion 72 can be clamped in integrating the plug10 as shown in FIG. 24. Further, there is provided a hold plate 202 forholding the electric wires 32 from a rear end edge of the bottom wall 14f of the surrounding portion 114 c rearwardly in the axial direction inintegrating the plug main body 24A.

In addition thereto, the housing cover 113 corresponding to the housingcover 13 according to the first embodiment, is not provided with aprojecting edge portion 13 g which is present in the housing cover 13.Therefore, the housing cover main body 13 c forms a flat face. Theceiling wall 114 c 3 functions as a cover shield portion for shielding arear half portion of the housing cover 113.

Joint 200 also covers the upper sides of the electric wires 32 disposedbetween the housing cover 113 and the copper foil portion 72.

Further, according to the alternative embodiment, the shield case 14Aand the clamp portion 14 d are eccentrically provided Therefore, in thespecification, for convenience, a portion of the shield case 14A otherthan the clamp portion 14 d, is referred to as a shield case main body15.

In the plug 10A according to the alternative embodiment, there areadopted the shield case main body 15 for shielding the housing 11 havingthe plurality of terminals 12 connected to the cable 20 and the housingcover 113 attached to the housing 11 and covering the cable 20 and thesolder connection portions 12 c of the terminals 12, and the shield case14A that is provided eccentrically from the axis core L2 of the shieldcase main body 15 to L1 and has the clamp portion 14 d for clamping theportion of the cable 20 turned back by peeling off the cover 21 of thecable 20 for soldering the core wires 34 of the cable 20 to theterminals 12.

Further, the clamp portion 14 d is on the same axis core as that of theceiling wall 114 c 3, which is the cover shield portion for shieldingthe housing cover 113 covering the solder connection portions 12 c ofthe terminals 12.

One method of integrating the plug 10A into the shield case 14A is shownin FIG. 18 through FIG. 26.

First, as shown in FIG. 18, the cable 20 exposed with the core wires 34,is soldered to the terminals 12 of the housing 11. Before the wires 34are soldered to the terminals 12, a portion of the cover 21 of the cable20 is peeled off, the knitted shield and the drain wire in the cable 20are turned back to an outer periphery of the cover 21 and a copper foiltape, not illustrated, is wrapped around the turned-back knitted shieldand drain wire to thereby constitute the copper foil portion 72.

As shown in FIG. 19, the housing cover 113 is then mounted to thehousing 11. Next, as shown in FIG. 20, the housing 11 is inserted intothe shield case 14A rearwardly in the axial direction. At this point,the wall member 114 c 1 extends from the bottom wall 14 f, with theceiling wall 114 c 3 extending from wall member 114 c 1 and the clampportion 14 d extending from ceiling wall 114 c 3. Further, the holdplate 202 is brought into a hung state at this occasion. Further, theclamp portion 14 d is opened to this side.

As shown in FIG. 21, the cable 20 is then bent downwardly at the portionof the electric wires 32. The bending extends to the front side of thehold plate 202. The bending is for avoiding interference between theelectric wires and the clamp portion 14 d.

As shown in FIG. 23, when an external force is exerted to the ceilingwall 114 c 3 of the wall member 114 c 1 toward an inner side of theshield case 14A, stress is produced at the folding line 115 andtherefore, the ceiling wall 114 c 3 is folded to bend to cover thehousing cover 13 from above (see arrow mark of FIG. 23). At thisoccasion, the clamp portion 14 d, which is integral with the ceilingwall 14 c 3, is pivoted together and the opening is directed downwardlyas shown in FIG. 23. Once this procedure is completed, the axis line L1and the axis line L2 overlap each other and the plug main body isdisposed on the same axis core.

Next, the cable 20 bent in FIG. 21 is recovered to its unbent state, asshown in FIG. 22.

As shown in FIG. 24, the copper foil portion 72 is then clamped by theclamp portion 14 d and the cable 20 is straightly extended to the rearside in the axial direction. Next, as shown in FIG. 25, bending of thehold plate 202 is turned back and the electric wires 32 are fixed by thehold plate 202 in the housing 11. Finally, as shown in FIG. 26, there isformed the plug 10A by covering the plug main body 24A by the handholdportion 25 formed by overmolding.

According to the shield case 14A adopted in the plug 10A, the clampportion 14 d is disposed on the axis core L1 by being made to beeccentric from the axis core L2 of the shield case 14A and therefore,prior to integrating the plug main body 24A to the shield case 14A, theclamp portion 14 d is not present on the same axis core. As such, theclamp portion 14 d does not constitutes a hindrance in inserting thehousing 11 into the shield case 14A. Therefore, operation of integratingthe housing 11 and the shield case 14A is simplified.

Further, since the cylindrical portion 14 a shielding by the housing 11,and the ceiling wall 114 c 3 as the cover shield portion shielding thehousing cover, are integrated as a single structure, as compared to twoseparate shield parts, time and labor to install the shield to the plugis reduced compared to two part shield systems.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from the spirit thereof. The presentexamples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is notto be limited to the details given herein.

1. A plug connector, comprising: a housing; a plurality of groovesformed in an axial direction of the housing; a plurality of terminalsfitted in the grooves, the terminals being capable of being terminatedto a cable; a housing cover for covering a portion of the cable and theterminals; an intersecting portion formed at the housing and orthogonalto the grooves; and an engaging projection formed at the housing coverfor engaging with the intersecting portion in the axial direction,wherein the intersecting portion includes a rectangular bridge memberextending from the housing to form a bridge over the plurality ofgrooves, and the engaging projection is fitted in a space formed betweenthe plurality of grooves and the rectangular bridge member, wherein thespace portion is a through hole extending through both ends of thebridge member, the through hole being open in the axial direction andwherein the engaging projection is at least a pair of projections formedat positions respectively substantially closing the openings at bothends of the bridge member.
 2. The plug connector of claim 1, wherein therectangular bridge member includes a plurality of walls partitioning thespace portion in accordance with the number of the grooves; and whereinthe engaging projection is a plurality of small projections respectivelyfitted in openings of small gaps formed by the plurality of partitionwalls.
 3. The plug connector of claim 1, wherein the rectangular bridgemember includes a plurality of walls partitioning the space portion inaccordance with the number of the grooves.
 4. The plug connector ofclaim 1, including a shield case, the shield case including a main bodyfor shielding the housing.
 5. The plug connector of claim 4, wherein theshield case includes a clamp portion provided eccentrically from theshield case main body and having a clamp portion capable of clamping acable terminated to the terminals.
 6. The plug connector of claim 1 incombination with a cable, the cable being terminated to at least one ofthe terminals.